Waiting for Godot, a Tragicomedy in Two Acts

New York: Grove Press, 1954 Translated from author's own original French. First American edition, first printing. Publisher's black cloth, with wraparound title in blind, spine lettered in gold and silver foil, red endpapers; in its original black and white dust jacket, with a photograph from a production of the play to front panel, and portrait of Beckett to rear panel. Fine book with just a minuscule spot of soiling to fore edge of text block; about fine unclipped dust jacket, with a touch of toning to spine and flap edges, and a tiny bit of rubbing to foot of spine. Overall, a truly excellent copy. Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play about two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, who converse in witty and amusing banter while they wait for Godot, who ultimately never arrives. Beckett, an Irish author whose move to France was accompanied by his transition from writing in English to French, translated this text from its original French (published under the title En attendant Godot). The play originally premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de Babylone in January 1953. A theatrical masterpiece, Waiting for Godot was voted the "most significant English-language play of the 20th Century" in a 1998/99 poll conducted by the British Royal National Theatre. Notably, this first American edition was the first edition printed in English, preceding the London edition by two years.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Dust Jacket Included.